Improvement in skates



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEO BENJAMIN IRVING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN SKATES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 37, l 69, dated Decemberl 16, 1862.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN IRVING, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture of Skates; and Ido hereby decla-re that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, of which- Figure l is an elevation, Fig. 2 a plan, and Fig. 3 a section, ofthe runner of my improved skate.

Similar letters refer to the same parts.

'lhe nature ot' my invention, as a new arti* cle of manufacture, consists in an improved skate, the body of which,beingequall v adapted to either foot, is made of iron or other comparatively soft metal or material, and with shoes or runner-plates of steel, these shoes or runner-plates having a groove near each edge of the under or supporting` surface for giving them a proper hold upon the ice, without regard to the foot they may be upon.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

I construct the body of the skate a in any ofthe known forms, usually otl cast metal, with broad soles to tit the boot of the wearer upon its top, andthe greater part of the runner cast in the same piece. To the lower side of the ruimer, when properly dressed, a thin strip of steel or other hard metal, b, is fitted and secured by means of the dovetails c c and rivets d tl d, thus securing a superior surface for contact with the ice, while the body ofthe skate l is of cheaper metal. There are numerous methods by which the shoes b may be secured to the body a of the skate, among which are soldering, brazing, and by means ot' a longitudinal tongue upon the shoe b and a corresponding groove in the body a.

I usually form the tread ofthe skate, or that part which comes in contact with the ice, in such a manner that the lower outline ot' its cross-section presents a narrow groove upon each edge for the purpose of holding to the ire 1 against slipping sidewise when the skate is turned over to one side, while the linejoining the grooves is straight or slightly concave, thus preventing the skate cutting into the ice when upright. L; It is convenient and economical to roll the metal for the shoes b in long strips, after the usual mode ot' rolling iron rods, and to the shape required. Afterward the strips may be cut into the proper lengths and bent to fit the body ofthe skate.

What I claim as a new article of manufacture is An improved skate, the runner or shoe of which is made of a plate of steel, with a narrow groove near each edge, when the body or frame of the skate is made ot' iron or some other softer metal or materia-l, and when said frame is adapted equally to either foot, substantially as herein described.

BENJAMIN IRVI NG.

Witnesses NORMAN NV. WHEELER, CHARLES H. Gonnnr'r. 

